The author enriches our understanding of this vast breeding ground of poets, Empires, mystics and saints through an inspired collection of the best of over three thousand years of descriptive writing. This journey begins with life during the reigns of the earliest of the Persian rulers, Cyrus and Xerxes and journey through Persian life, history and culture, taking in the world of the Parthians, the forgotten dynasty of Iran, and the second Persian empire of the Sassanians. It continues in the company of great minds with John Simpson's interview with Ayatollah Khomeini, Robert Byron during his elegiac revelation of the beauty of Isfahan, Jason Elliot in modernday Tehran, and Christophe de Bellaigue's investigation into modern martyrdom and a wonderful insight into the Iranian psyche.